it's nice to meet you (too)
by te amour
Summary: She's the most powerful woman in the galaxy; he's the demigod who has saved her home, over and over. An unlikely coincidence brings them together, and amidst their adventures in this tumultuous world, 'sometimes, it's nice to just be a boy and a girl'.
1. Hi, I'm Percy Jackson

_She's the most powerful woman in the galaxy; he's the demigod who saved her home, over and over. An unlikely coincidence brings them together, and amidst their adventures in this tumultuous world, 'sometimes, it's nice to just be a boy and a girl'._

* * *

'A quick in-and-out operation. I shoot them, you get the package. Got it?'

That was the original plan. It wasn't working.'

If it worked, she'd be out of here already. Instead, Carol was trapped in a square, airtight laboratory but for a single door, fending off wave after wave of Kree soldiers who wanted to either stop her accomplice, Luphomoid rogue assassin Nebula, from getting their new planet-exploding chemical bomb or take her back to the Supreme Intelligence for some fun torture sessions. Probably both_._

Her photon blasts were tearing through her former kinsmen and her aura made her essentially bulletproof, but there were so many of her enemies that she was tiring. Someone had definitely put an energy dampener somewhere because she was already sweating.

'Nebula?' she risked a glance back. The assassin was nowhere to be seen. 'Oh, you little—'

Someone stabbed something into her neck. Instantly, her limbs became noodles and she collapsed onto the floor. 'Ouch…' she groaned.

'Hello, Vers,' someone purred in her ear. 'We meet again.'

Carol glanced up and groaned. 'Minn-Erva, you little—' _minx. _'I thought you died when Maria melted your ship.'

Minn-Erva, the doctor and biochemical engineer, smirked her familiar smirk as Kree soldiers surrounded her. 'Well, you thought wrong. I guess nothing has changed.'

Carol tried to shoot a photon blast. Her hand heated up, but Minn-Erva kicked her ribs, and she lost concentration, doubling over in pain. 'I swear, if you put one of these disk things on me again…'

'Oh, not just. It's upgraded, by yours truly.' Minn-Erva bent down. 'Listen, Vers. Your accomplice will be caught; we have the entire starship surrounded. You can still come with us.'

'After this fiasco—' Carol pointed at the newly installed Supreme Intelligence control chip in her neck, '—you expect me to go back? And, you expect the Supreme Intelligence to let me go back? No, thanks.'

Minn-Erva shook her head and motioned for soldiers to stand down. She lowered her voice. 'Starforce misses you, Vers. _I _miss you. Please, come with me, and I will vouch for you in front of the entire Kree army, if needed.' She took Carol's hand. 'Just stand down. I know you never do, but please, just this once.'

Carol gripped her hand tightly. 'I never understood your loyalty to them, Minn,' she murmured. 'You're too talented to be wasting your life away on Hala developing weapons. Imagine the diseases you could cure, the people you could save, if you left.'

Minn-Erva hesitated. 'I can't do that, Vers.'

'The name's Carol now, Minn.' Carol smiled at her sadly. 'Not Vers. Until you change your mind, goodbye.'

'What—'

The biochemist failed to notice Carol's glowing feet until it was too late. A photon blast shot through the floor of the ship, and Carol shot through the hole, not forgetting to flick an EMP device at the ship. Kree warships dimmed behind her as her aura flickered dangerously, and she half-flew, half-flailed through the deep, dark cosmos...

* * *

Disjointed memories flickered through her mind. Her first test flight as a pilot. Playing basketball with Maria. The tesseract explosion. First mission as a Kree. Defeating the Supreme Intelligence. Minn-Erva's mischievous smile.

As the pictures came and went, they seemed to become more recent. Meeting Nebula. Minn-Erva's smile, again. Stuttering through deep space. Crashing through an atmosphere, her suit burning with cosmic fire…

She woke with a start. She was not crashing through an atmosphere. Instead, she was in a dimly lit room in someone's bed, which was for some reason...completely blue, pillow, quilt and all. The curtains were drawn, but she could tell it was light out. On the nightstand stood a glass of apple juice and a glowing, silver flower.

She had a pounding headache, and her throat was parched. She supposed if the person wanted to kill her, he would've done so already. So, she grabbed the glass of apple juice and drank.

It didn't taste like apple juice at all. For a second, she thought she was being poisoned.

It tasted like...her favorite comfort drink, iced mocha, temperature and all. She hasn't tasted it in...forever. Decades, probably, by Earth time. She downed it all in a few gulps. The headache abated, but she started feeling a little feverish. Maybe it was poison after all.

'Did you seriously drink all of it?'

Carol instinctively aimed her hand at the voice before hissing in pain. It was covered in fresh bandages.

'Yeah, it's pretty badly burnt. Don't worry, though. The nectar should help it heal, but a little too much and you might spontaneously combust, so I won't be giving you any more.'

A guy was standing at the doorway who couldn't be more than seventeen or eighteen. He wasn't terribly muscular but well-toned, with windswept raven hair and eyes which reminded her of calm, shallow seas. He twirled a ballpoint pen in his right hand, staring at her with cautious interest.

'Who—' she cleared her throat. Her voice was raspy. 'Who are you?'

He frowned. 'I think I should be asking you that question, seeing as I had to carry you to my bed from the road. You're lucky you didn't get run over by a car.'

'A car?' She sat up, inwardly grinning. Was she seriously this lucky? 'Is this Earth?'

'No, it's actually Mars.'

She supposed she was pretty close to Earth when she got captured, on the edge of its solar system. 'Oh, you have no idea.'

'I do.' He walked around her - _his? - _bed and swept the curtains open. Carol blinked at the sudden sunlight. 'The blue blood gave it away. Plus the fall from the sky. And the colorful suit. And the fact that you're still alive.'

Oh. '...I guess that would give it away.'

'So, alien?' He raised his eyebrows. 'Monster? Egyptian...whatchamacallit? Honestly, nothing would surprise me, so shoot. I bet my world is crazier than yours.'

'I'll bet you ten bucks it's not. And I'm not any of the things you just mentioned.' Carol groaned as she tried to get out of bed. She wobbled and nearly collapsed. In a flash, the boy was next to her, his arms on her shoulder.

'Woah, relax.' He helped her lean against the wall. She was already breathing heavily. 'I should tell you about your injuries. Your costume shielded you from most of the fire, but your hands are burnt. You have, surprisingly, only one broken rib and probably a concussion.'

'I don't get concussions.'

'Maybe not, but there's a thing in your neck which can't feel too good. I couldn't take it out. You still haven't told me who you are.'

Carol hesitated. '...Vers.'

He waited. She got the feeling that he wasn't fooled. 'Danvers,' she clarified, sighing. 'Carol Danvers.'

He blinked. 'So you're not an alien?'

'I just said that I'm not. It's complicated. I need to get this thing out of my neck.'

'I'm Percy,' he said. 'What is that thing, anyways?'

'Power dampener of sorts.' She looked at her uniform interface and tapped it twice. It was dead. 'Do you have a computer, or something?'

'Yeah. Don't break it.'

Carol started unwrapping the bandages on her hand with her mouth. 'How badly—woah.'

Her hands were almost completely healed. No pain. They still looked a little redder than normal but otherwise, completely normal. She patted her chest. A twinge but definitely not bad.

She looked at Percy, who smiled. 'Nectar works fast. You also heal fast.'

Carol stared at him. 'Thanks.'

'It's what I do.'

* * *

Earthen technology was a lot more advanced than she remembered - their computers were almost competent now. With a little bit of fiddling, she managed to recalibrate her interface. She might have overheated Percy's computer, but…

'Did you overheat my mom's computer?'

Carol glanced up. 'You have a mom?'

That sounded bad. Percy frowned. 'Of course I have a mom. Don't you have a mom?'

'...Yeah. Sorry. Not what I meant. It's just that you...seem too normal to be normal. Do you have some sort of tweezers or something?'

Percy scratched his head. 'No, sorry. I doubt tweezers would help you get whatever that thing is out of your neck though. I'm hardly normal, but we all try to be. Sometimes, that's the best we can do.'

'Water, then? I need to short circuit this thing.'

'Sure, but it looks more like plastic than metal.'

'It's not plastic. There's metal in the circuits. I just need to somehow get the water between it and my skin.' In all honesty, Carol didn't really know what she was doing. The first time she removed it, she was Binary and _very _inspired. She could hardly turn binary now, and she wasn't very inspired. She was pretty much guessing.

Percy brought a bottle of water. 'You want me to do it?'

'No, thanks. I got it.' Carol poured the water onto the dampener. It didn't do much. She tried to pinch her skin to get a bit of space but hissed in pain. 'Damn you, Minn-Erva.'

'Minerva?' Percy frowned. 'Are you Roman?'

'What? No, what does that even mean? This isn't working.' Carol slammed the bottle down onto the table. The bottle collapsed and water started running from it onto the floor. 'Oh, sorry—'

'Don't worry about it,' Percy interrupted. 'Wow, those are strong arms. You said you had to get the water underneath the dampener?'

Carol glanced at him. 'Yeah. But it's skintight.'

Percy didn't respond. He made a twirling motion with his hands. Carol watched in shock - and bewilderment - as the water responded, lifting off the floor and from the bottle into the air. As she stared, the water formed a singular stream and started snaking towards her.

'Can you move your neck a bit? I need a good look at it.' Carol complied. Percy squinted at her neck. 'That's pretty tight, but I think…' The water stream flattened into a thin sheet and slid between the device and her skin. It was a weird feeling - Carol could feel the water moving, but not like water usually would. It was like they had a mind of their own.

The device sparked and fell off. Strength flooded back into her limbs. Carol took a deep breath. She could feel the rest of her wounds closing.

'That's better,' she grinned. 'That was cool.'

Percy grinned back. 'Most people think so.'

* * *

Percy treated her to McDonald's. She vaguely remembered the fast food chain from the sixties, but had never bothered to try it. She regretted that decision immensely.

'I bet you don't have this kind of stuff where you come from,' Percy said, watching with a wry smile as Carol demolished fries.

'I remember this from decades ago,' Carol mumbled through a mouthful of fried potatoes, 'but I never had one.'

'Okay, where exactly are you from?' Percy leaned forwards, his hands together. 'You sound very normal. You behave very normally. But I know you're not human. At least, not exactly.'

Carol glanced at him. 'I _am _human.'

Percy sighed. 'Okay. Say I believe you. That doesn't explain the blue blood.'

'It came from blood transfusion. Yon-Rogg did this.'

'Now you're just avoiding the point.' Percy picked at his fries. 'I don't think you're going to try to take over New York or anything, which, believe it or not, _has _happened. So let's do this - I ask you a question, and you answer honestly, and then you get to ask me a question. Cool?'

Carol hesitated. 'Three questions each.'

'Deal. You don't have to answer, but you don't get yours if you don't.' Percy sipped his coke. 'Were you born here?'

'Clarify 'here'.'

'Earth,' Percy elaborated. 'A country. America.'

'Yep.' She wriggled her eyebrows at him. 'Boston, actually. What about you?'

'Is that your question?' At her nod, Percy smiled. 'Right here in Manhattan.'

'Fancy,' Carol said. 'Big city.'

Percy scowled. 'Not always. Are you in any way related to non-Earth people?'

Carol thought about it. 'Sort of. Not by lineage. By blood.'

Percy frowned. 'That's the same thing.'

'Not exactly.' Carol shook her drink. It was empty except for ice. 'You did a cool water trick. How'd you learn to do that? Last time I checked, we couldn't do that.'

'I didn't learn it. It's heritage. And blood. They mean the same thing.' Percy made coke spiral out of his straw and land back in perfectly. 'Last question. I saw your hands glowing. What can you do?'

'Nothing much without causing irreparable damage to your house.'

Percy eyed her. 'Danvers...'

Carol gave in. 'Fine. I can fly and shoot light out of my hands to kick ass. I'm also strong.'

Percy made an expression that was somewhere between satisfied and confused. 'Shoot light? How can light kick ass?'

'You don't have any questions left.' Carol wagged her fingers at him. 'My last one: are there more people like you?'

Percy hesitated. Carol gave him the same look he gave her before.

'...Yes.'

He didn't seem willing to say more than that, so Carol left it. 'Well, good talk. Good food.'

Percy nodded. 'Yeah. Very good talk.'

She stood up. 'Well, I have to go.'

Percy stood up too. 'I'll walk you out. Where?'

Carol raised her eyebrows. 'I'm not going to torch your building down, not after you paid for my McDonalds. But, if you really want to know, there's a blue-skinned alien-slash-cyborg girl with a planet-exploding chemical bomb running amok in the galaxy.'

Percy nodded, not surprised at all. 'Good reason. But I'm still going to walk you.'

She got the feeling that if they started arguing, some planet would explode into toxic chemical gas before they finished. 'Fine.'

A portal made of mist and rainbows opened next to them. Carol glanced at it with mild interest. Percy grinned widely.

'Hey, Wise Girl,' he said. 'What's up?'

Carol tried to reach through the portal and almost shut it down. Percy glared at her, like _don't shut down the portal or I will get very angry. _The girl in the image also had blonde hair, but her eyes were stormy grey. She looked stunning.

'Hey, Seaweed Brain,' she responded, also smiling. 'I'm at Hermes's. Can I come over for dinner?'

'You know you don't have to ask, right?' Percy's grin was growing wider by the second. 'Of course you can.'

Carol coughed. 'Wise Girl' finally noticed her. 'Oh, hey. Who's this?'

Percy glanced at her, as if just realizing she was still here. 'Oh, this is Carol Danvers, some girl who can fly, shoot light out of her hands and kick ass. Also she bleeds blue but says she's human, but is somehow also apparently alien.'

'Wise Girl' nodded. 'Right. Well, I'll be over by six.' She swiped a hand through the portal. It dissipated. That's when Carol realized it probably wasn't a portal.

'Girlfriend?' she asked.

Percy nodded. 'Annabeth. We've been dating for a couple of years.'

'She seems very secure,' Carol remarked. 'Doesn't she care that a girl's in your apartment?'

Percy's eyes widened. 'Oh, gods, I didn't even think of that. But I think our relationship is a little more stable than _that.'_

Carol thought about Minn-Erva's possessiveness. She couldn't relate.

'She's also at someone else's place,' she said. 'Aren't you worried?'

Percy frowned. 'What? Oh, you mean _Hermes? _She's an architect, and is designing his place. That's why she's there.'

'She's also very beautiful,' Carol said casually.

'She is, isn't she?' Gods, he was oblivious. And very secure. Carol smiled faintly, a little bit amused and a little bit envious.

'Well, I'd better get going,' she said, holding out a hand. 'It's been nice to meet you. If there's a crisis on Earth, just call me. I left a communicator on your study desk.'

'Nice to meet you too.' Percy shook her hand. 'There aren't going to be any more crises. We had two. We solved them.'

Carol raised his eyebrows. 'Different worlds, Percy.' She walked over to his kitchen window. 'Sounds like yours is pretty crazy.'

'It is.'

She smirked. 'But mine is crazier.' Before he could respond, she backflipped out of the window, cosmic flames already engulfing her body as she blasted off into the atmosphere. She caught Percy giving her the bird.

As she soared through the atmosphere, she pondered on the day's events. Water-controlling guy (Percy). McDonalds (from Percy). A hot girl (who is unfortunately Percy's girlfriend).

'Decent day,' she decided. 'At least I had a good time before hunting down this thief.'

She'll be back soon.


	2. Hi, I'm Carol Danvers

_We're back! This time, mainly from Percy's perspective. I hope these two introductory chapters give you guys a feeling of how this story is going to go. I tried to make it sound a little lighter than my other stories, to try out something new. Let's hope it worked well! Happy reading!_

* * *

**Hi, I'm Carol Danvers**

'Who the hell are you guys?'

Percy scrambled backward, holding out Riptide threateningly. It was more of a bluff than an actual weapon, as the five goons in front of him were mortal. Overwhelmingly strong and trained in martial arts, but mortal nonetheless. As a result, celestial bronze was absolutely useless against them.

He tried to feel around for water, but couldn't find any. Whatever they had planned, they'd planned it well. Chiron had sent him on a recon mission to New Mexico to investigate some sort of meteor or something, and now he was in the desert, the nearest water source deep underground, surrounded by three armored SUVs and five dudes with neckbeards and tasers. No allies, no rainbows for Iris messages, not even a functional weapon.

'Subject surrounded,' one of them said. 'Clear for pacification.'

'Woah, woah, woah.' Percy held up a hand. The other one crept into his pocket, where Carol Danver's communicator sat permanently. He didn't think this warranted a call into the deep, dark galaxy, but none of the gods were answering his prayers and he was running out of options. 'Pacification? Don't know what I've done to deserve these taser guns.'

'Sorry kid, it ain't personal.' They charged. Percy pressed the call button. He ducked underneath a punch and kneed the attacker in the sternum, making him stumble back, winded. Pivoting on one foot, he slammed the heel of his palm into the second attacker's temple. He slumped to the ground, unconscious. Percy spun around again, right into the path of a fist. His head slammed into it and he staggered back and fell. His vision was blurry and there was a ringing in his ears, which was never good.

'Target down,' one of the goons said...maybe. He couldn't be sure from all the ringing in his ears.

'Good job,' another one, seemingly their leader, responded. 'Tie him up and we're gettin' outta here.'

Two of them approached him and bent down with handcuffs. Percy bit the right hand of one of them.

'Damn it!' the guy yelled, moving back. 'This son of a bitch won't stay down.'

'Tranq him,' the leader replied, cooly. 'Then tie him up.'

Percy was about to object profusely when he felt the dart hit his back. _Damn...that's some really strong tranquilizer. _He tried to stay awake - usually he could stave off these kinds of mortal drugs, especially since they all had water in them - but to no avail. Soon, his vision darkened until the men were merely blobs of grey moving around a pale white landscape.

'Sweet dreams, kid,' the guy whose hand he'd bit sneered - he thought it was the guy, anyways. He couldn't be sure. 'Maybe we'll fetch you a muzzle as well.'

Tied up and his body completely unresponsive, Percy allowed his mind to spiral into the deep, dark void. The last thing he heard was the faintest of beeps from the communicator. _Come on, Danvers...I need you._

* * *

'Hey, you.'

Carol stared at the hologram before her. Minn-Erva was in her - _Carol's _\- apartment, taking a shower. The sight would have been familiar had it been a few decades ago. Now...she didn't know how to feel. Nostalgic, perhaps. Maybe a little sad, that what they once had was gone like ashes in the wind.

She made these calls periodically. She attributed it to her inability to let go of what once was. They really did have something going, Minn-Erva and her. It was hardly perfect, but perhaps it was precisely that which made it thrilling and genuine. They laughed, they fought, they dreamt together. Carol sometimes cried. Minn-Erva didn't cry, at least never in front of her. It was a little something the doctor either wasn't able to do or had never shown her.

The doctor, without her tactical gear and sniper rifle, looked a lot less intimidating with her back turned, but there still was a permanent aura around her which warned anyone who came near. _I am a soldier. Do not cross me. _Minn-Erva paused, but didn't look back.

'Vers,' she finally replied. 'Fancy seeing you here.'

'That would be true if you could see me.' Carol said. 'Unless you've developed bionic eyes and implanted them on the back of your head.

'Pft. Bionic eyes. Much too easy for my talent.' She still didn't turn around. 'So. You survived, huh? Crashing through space must have felt nice.'

'Surprised you didn't do the same thing, with the huge hole into space I left in your ship.'

She finally turned around. 'What do you want? If it's to ogle my breasts, I'm afraid we've moved past that point in our relationship.'

'And yet you're taking a shower in my old apartment.' Carol crossed her arms. 'Maybe you're the one who wants me to come back.'

'You know I do.'

That caught her off guard. Usually, Minn-Erva wasn't so blunt. Carol hesitated, considering her next words.

'You know I can't,' she finally said, robotically. They were words she'd repeated, probably hundreds of times. 'And you know why.'

'Then _don't bother calling, Vers!' _Minn-Erva suddenly shouted. 'You are never coming back, and I am never leaving. This relationship is _over.'_

'Leave, then,' Carol snapped. 'I dare you. Disconnect and I won't ever call you again.'

Minn-Erva raised her hand, and for a second Carol thought she was actually going to do it. Her heart leaped into her throat. Then the doctor slowly lowered her hand with a sigh.

'It won't happen,' she said. 'This is my home.'

'It was my home too.'

'No, it wasn't. C-53 was always your home.' Minn-Erva turned back around. 'Hala has always been mine.'

'You told me once you don't even like Hala.'

'Don't start this again, _Carol.' _Carol nearly took a step back in shock. It was the first time she'd used her name from Earth. 'I am Kree. You are..._Terran,_ with a little bit of Tesseract. We are not the same. We will never be compatible. It's time to let go. The Kree have no quarrel with you unless you infringe what is ours.'

'I won't let this go.' Carol shook her head. 'It's something us _Terrans _are notorious for, just like the Kree are notorious for being militaristic asses.'

Minn-Erva sneered. 'Emotion has always been your weakness, Vers. Even now, you let it cloud your judgment.'

'Maybe if the Kree had actual individual brains, the Supreme Intelligence wouldn't still be sitting high and mighty inside your computers.'

'Destroy it, then. You said you would.'

'I'm not going to destroy what keeps order on Hala. Without it you're headless chickens. Believe it or not, I don't want you to be headless chickens.'

'Says the _Terran.'_

Carol smiled at the old narrative. It was almost endearing now, after hearing it hundreds of times. 'You know, us Terrans aren't so bad. One of them saved my ass recently.'

Minn-Erva laughed incredulously. 'A Terran saved _your _ass? I'll believe it when I see it.'

Right on cue, a notification popped up on Carol's interface. An emergency call...from Earth.

'I have to go,' she said.

Minn-Erva looked puzzled. 'To where?'

'C-53. The guy who saved my ass needs my help.'

She shut down the call. The twelfth one in the past eighteen months. Exhaustion flooded her being, filling her with weariness. Talks with Minn-Erva always brought her down, yet she kept trying.

She took a deep breath, then squared her shoulders. It's time to forget about Minn-Erva, for now. She had a Percy Jackson to save.

* * *

'Comms check. Alpha, Charlie, do you copy?'

_Crackle. _'Alpha, copy.' _Crackle. _'Charlie, copy.'

'Affirmative. Package still unconscious. Smooth sailing.'

Percy woke up groggily to some loud talking. He blinked a few times to clear his vision. He was in the backseat of one of the armored Jeeps. It felt like they were on flat ground now, which meant they were no longer in the desert.

He closed his eyes again. He didn't want them to know he was awake. His hands were still cuffed behind his back, but he could still feel the communicator in his pocket. He smiled. _Idiots. They haven't searched me._

Using a sudden jerk from the vehicle driving over a bump, he pretended to flop onto his side, back towards the front seats. Carol's communicator slid out of his pocket, hidden from the sight of his captors by his body. He heard one of them snigger.

'Kids out like a pig,' he chuckled. He was the driver. 'And Sitwell said he was dangerous.'

'He nearly bit your hand off,' his buddy pointed out.

'Shut your flap, Liamson. You got kneed in the balls.'

Percy allowed one eye to open. The communicator light was still flashing, but the screen was off. _Damn it._

Using another bump, he moved his head so that he could reach the communicator with his teeth. He bit the button on the communicator.

It made a beep. _Oh, Hades help me. _He could hear pistols being readied in the front seats. 'What the hell was that?'

'Sounded like it came from the kid.' It was booting up. The screen flashed to life. Percy was about to celebrate when he saw a logo of some sort. It looked like the letter M stretched horizontally. _For fuck's sake, Carol. Why is there a god damn time-wasting logo on an emergency communicator?_

'Go back there and check.' _Come on…_

He heard shuffling behind him. The screen went black again. _I swear to Poseidon—_

'I ain't seein' nothing.' The guy said. Percy nearly cried in relief.

Then the other one suggested, 'Check behind him,' and the feeling of impending doom was back in full force.

'The kid's out like a rock. There's no need.'

The screen flared to life. He heard Liamson sigh. 'Just do it, Rollins. We don't want surprises. Pierce is gonna kill us if he gets away.' _Come on, come on, come on…_

Of course, if there was no message from Carol, then it would all be for nothing.

'_New message from: yourself.' _Percy didn't care anymore. He bit the button with all his might. 'The kid's awake! He's got something.'

'_Approaching. Give me fifty counts by the clock on the screen - 119805.' _The clock now read _119843._

He could feel Rollins behind his back. 'What the hell is this?' Percy tried to stop him, but the thug kicked him in the ribs and picked it up. Percy groaned in pain. That was going to leave a nasty bruise. _'Approaching. Give me fifty counts by the clock on the screen. 119805. _What the hell does this mean?'

'_Shit. _Shit, shit, shit! He called in support, damn it! What does it say on the damn thing now?'

'_119844.'_

'Alpha, Charlie, do you copy?!' Liamson shouted. 'The kid's got friends!'

As soon as he finished his sentence, the car flipped upside down. Percy grunted as he hit his head on the roof. Someone ripped the door of the SUV clean off - steel hinges and all, just like that. While the others were still trying to figure out what the hell was going on, Carol, gloriously engulfed in cosmic fire, marched in and scooped Percy up like a baby. The sheer energy from her flames - which somehow didn't burn him at all - disabled whatever magnetic technology that was holding the handcuffs together. She set him down on the road.

'Hi,' Percy said. 'Sup?'

Carol raised her eyebrows and smirked. _'Sup? _Nothing much, I guess. Let me kick these guys to Saturn, then we'll catch up over McDonald's?'

'Sure. Need help?'

'Hmm. Not really.' Carol pointed her arm, and Percy saw her energy blast for the first time, a beam of pure power ripping through each of the three vehicles. He was surprised they didn't blow up instantly. He suspected Carol didn't want to kill.

'You've got at most thirty seconds before it blows up,' Carol called at the scrambling military men. 'I suggest a hasty retreat.'

The first man who scrambled out of the mess pointed his rifle at them. 'This is official SHIELD activity, lady. It would be smart for you to stand down.' Percy recognized his voice as the leader who ordered for him to be tied up.

Carol paused. 'SHIELD?'

'Strategic Homeland Invasion—'

'I know what it is.' Carol looked like she was stunned by disbelief, like the notion of SHIELD - whatever it was - capturing teenagers couldn't quite compute with her. 'I...I didn't think SHIELD abducted teenagers.'

'Carol,' Percy urged. 'Let's get out of here.'

'Yeah, well, times change,' the man said.

Carol looked like she wanted to say more, but Percy grabbed her arm. 'Hey,' he said. 'They say they're whoever they say they are, but they might not be. Don't give away more.'

She still looked hesitant. Lost, almost. Like the idea of SHIELD abducting teenagers went against everything she knew.

'Fine,' she said reluctantly. 'But I'm going to get to the bottom of this.' She fired another energy blast towards the SUVs, just for good measure. 'Crawl back to...whoever the director is now. Tell him Captain Marvel sends her regards.'

With that, she grabbed Percy's waist and rocketed into the sky

* * *

Carol didn't head for his apartment. He didn't know whether she still remembered where it was. When he asked her where they were heading, she responded with a curt 'a safehouse', and Percy decided to leave it there. She didn't seem happy.

In what seemed like a blur, they landed softly next to a small cabin in the middle of a field of tallgrass, waving softly and in unison in the light breeze. Oak trees hugged the little wooden hut on three sides, their rustling leaves working in harmony with the gentle afternoon sun to create dancing spots of shade in the otherwise bright clearing. There was a plane, dust-covered and worn, parked in an open space in front of the porch. Carol smiled when she saw it.

'She still uses this place, huh.' She caressed the side of the cockpit and studied the dust. 'But I guess she hasn't been here for a while.'

Percy stayed some distance away. He felt like he was intruding on an intimate moment.

After studying the plane for some time, Carol moved away from it. 'Come in,' she said. 'I'll make you some coffee.'

She slid the doors open, and Percy stepped carefully inside. The cabin was small but cozy, with its few rooms plain and tidy. There weren't many decorations; the only ones Percy could see were photos of a woman with chocolate skin and a radiant smile, either with Carol or a little girl who had the same delighted grin, mostly at this house, a specific club and an airfield. A closer inspection of one of the pictures showed the woman with her arm around Carol's shoulder as they walked forward together. She had an amused grin as Carol laughed, half hunched over, at something.

A second one showed Carol with sunglasses on, looking at the camera as she climbed into the cockpit of a fighter jet. _Carol 'Avenger' Danvers. _'You were a pilot?' he asked. 'Wow.'

'Yep. US Air Force. Back then we weren't allowed to fly combat, but I still dreamed. They lifted the ban, apparently, but…' she shrugged. 'I don't need a plane to fly now.'

Percy didn't know how to respond. He decided to move on and asked another question. 'When was this?'

'1989. Come on, have a seat. Coffee's ready.'

'That was before I was even born.' Percy obliged, accepting the mug of coffee gratefully. He took an experimental sip. 'Thanks. This is nice.'

'Thanks. Maria makes them better, but you'll have to make do with mine.'

'Is she the woman in the photos?'

'This was her house.' Carol sat down, not quite next to him but not exactly opposite either, so that Percy was on one side of the corner and Carol on the other. 'Looks like it still is her house. She told me once that she'd keep it stocked with coffee and food in case I come.' She sipped on her coffee with absent eyes, apparently lost in reminiscence. 'Wonder where she is now. Her daughter's probably already working.'

'She didn't put up any new photos,' Percy noted. 'I guess she didn't want to get rid of these.'

Carol snorted, the corners of her mouth rising. 'Thanks, Percy, but I'm not feeling bad. Well, not about Maria, anyways. She's the strongest woman I've ever met; I'm sure she's fine. I'm more concerned about this SHIELD stuff.'

'They seem like nice guys.' Percy sipped his coffee. 'You know them?'

'I knew a guy from SHIELD. I don't know where he is now, or whether he's still around. But I have to see him.'

'So…' Percy wrung his hands. 'Kidnapping teenagers. They don't usually do that?'

Carol was about to answer, but hesitated. She didn't really know a lot about SHIELD, now that she thought about it. She knew Fury, and he was pretty much all she knew. 'I don't know.'

'Sounds like we've got work to do.'

She looked at him. 'We?'

Percy snorted. 'Of course. They tried to capture me. Somehow they knew about my powers.' He leaned forward, eyes blazing. 'Soon enough, they'll find out about my friends. I have to stop them before this happens.' God knows what will happen if the pantheon was exposed to the world. Nothing good, probably. 'They've suffered through two wars. I don't want a third.'

Carol stared at him. 'I haven't worked together with a lot of people.' _The last time I did, I ended up meeting you. _She smiled, and held out her hand. 'But I suppose we can make this work.'

Percy smiled too, and shook it. 'Deal. I'll ask around my...higher-ups. They'll definitely know something about SHIELD. I might have to relocate now that they're onto me, but…' he brought out the communicator and wriggled it at her. 'You know where to find me.'

Then he frowned. _Maybe the camp's borders might block the signals…_

He made a split-second decision which he hoped he wouldn't regret. 'Tell you what, if you need me, I'll probably be at Long Island Sound. There's a strawberry farm there. Emergencies only. Otherwise, contact with communicator or…' he handed her a handful of drachmas which he always kept stored somewhere on his person. 'Throw these into a rainbow and ask Iris to show me. You'll know how it works when you do it.'

Carol looked at him incredulously. 'Throw these into a rainbow?'

'You've seen it before.'

Realization dawned upon her. 'Annabeth?'

Percy grinned. 'Yep. That was this.'

Carol accepted the weird gold coins. Whatever world Percy was a part of, it was starting to sound bonkers. Ask _Iris? _What does that even mean? 'Thanks, I guess. I'll sniff around for leads, but SHIELD is a spy organization. I doubt I'll find much. Keep in touch.'

Percy nodded. 'Cool. One last thing…' he scratched his head sheepishly. 'I know what I said about emergencies only, but...can you drop me off at Long Island?'

* * *

Carol landed lightly on the field of grass, her hair billowing out around her as her cosmic fire flickered away and gravity took hold once again. She set Percy down and glanced around. There was nothing here except for some rolling hills. 'You sure this is the place? There isn't anything here.'

'Yep, this is the place.' Percy nodded definitely. 'If you look really hard, you might be able to see it.'

Carol squinted. For a moment, she thought she saw a flicker, of houses and forests and laughing children, but it was gone as soon as it appeared. 'Nothing...I think.'

Percy shrugged. 'One day, maybe.' He held out his hand. 'I'm sorry I can't say more right now, but I'll keep in touch.'

Carol took it and shook it, firmly. 'Likewise. Call me if you find anything.'

Percy snorted. 'Oh, it won't be me doing the finding. Annabeth is a genius; she'll find whatever you need in no time.' He started climbing up the closest hill. 'Don't be a stranger!'

He pointed towards the horizon right as he reached the top of the hill, and Carol looked just in time to be splashed in the face by water. She sputtered and swerved back around, ready to retaliate, but he was gone.

'Cheeky bastard,' she muttered. 'I'll get you back for that.'

Unknown to her, Percy was watching, the invisible barrier blocking him from her sight. He laughed at her confusion.

'Oh, I know you will.'

* * *

_The next chapter will be here on...I don't really know. All I know is Sea Girl and ERtH will be updated before this is again. I've had a busy two months, preparing for SATs. Hoping to get 1600 in one go so I don't have to redo it._

_On another note, Sea Girl - The Original is nearing completion. The penultimate chapter should be up. It's not quite as good as my other stories, as it was written years ago, but go check it out!_

_That's all from me. Ciao!_


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